My highschool adventure as a Sith is wrong, as expected
by Ideas-Guy
Summary: High school is the bane of any teenager's existence. A truly evil institution intent on trampling upon individuality to make everyone conform to social standards. Though I never expected how true that would be for the Sith Academy where the first lesson of the day is how to get away with murder, and the second is tomb-robbing.
1. Stage 1

Escapism is one of the few lies that transcend race, religion, culture and personal beliefs. It is a lie that had stood against the test of time, a lie that is as intrinsic to the human race as breathing and eating. Since the first humans, as they huddled around fires in their caves, they used this lie to distract them from reality. That they weren't scavengers surrounded by predators and that they weren't one sneeze away from certain death.

Escapism is one of the few things that all people have in common - the desire to not be where you are for any number of reasons. Escapism came in many forms over the tens of thousands of years it existed. From cavemen drawing on the walls of caves to peasants playing samurai in the Sengoku period to the modern era where objectively better methods of experiencing escapism came to be. Books, movies, anime, video games and so on.

Because satisfaction was a fleeting feeling. It only lasted for moments at a time, to be recalled fondly years later as your brain purposely forgot the hard work it took to achieve that feeling. Because for something to be satisfying, it must be worked for. It must be earned. Something handed to you on a silver platter might be gratifying, but it will never be satisfying.

The lie of escapism is a short cut to the feeling of satisfaction. A knockoff called gratification. It distracts you from your miserable nine to five job as a corporate slave, or worse, as a high school student while allowing you to live vicariously through another. When people read a fantasy book, when they became absorbed in the characters and lore of a world, whether they admitted it or not, they wanted to be in those worlds. They wanted to escape the confines of this world and leave their problems, no matter how big or small, behind them. To have a clean slate.

When you escape to these worlds that existed only on paper and in your mind when you have left your worries behind you, that feeling of satisfaction when you slay the evil dragon that terrorizes a kingdom...it is a lie. It's fake. It is gratification. But it feels genuine. It feels good. And it's so much easier to obtain this fleeting feeling in the confines of your mind than it is in reality.

It was because of this that the isekai genre had all but taken over the anime industry - manga-kas and otakus alike finally learned that they didn't have to bother with the thin disguise for their trashy self-inserts. The market was flooded with them, you couldn't throw a stone in a light-novel store without hitting a half dozen isekai stories with their own gimmick. They were slowly choking the life out of the anime industry! Because Iseaki anime sold, so every single one got an adaptation, no matter how stupid or poorly written and since there was only so much money, the companies chose to push out crap over quality, classical-.

The point is that the isekai genre blew up like it did because it made it so very easy to picture yourself in the generic protagonist shoes. The genre indulged the power fantasies that we all secretly wished to experience by handing out OP abilities like they're candy, to throw harems at generic protagonist so dull that they literally have no personality traits so the reader can picture themselves in their shoes easier. All of these things to get the readers and watchers hooked on this false sense of satisfaction when the protagonist does something difficult and amazing. Or when they're praised for simply existing.

However, the isekai genre was make-believe. Escapism and reality were like oil and water, they could only touch but never mix.

At least that's what I thought when BMW-sama claimed my life to turn me into a generic isekai protagonist. All because a girl couldn't keep her dog on a leash. It ran out into the center of the road, across a busy street, directly towards me as if it could smell the bento in my backpack. There had been a distinct lack of thought when I jumped off my bike to save the dog. My body had simply moved on its own accord.

I hadn't felt the impact. My body had turned off, like a light switch. I only knew I was hit by something when I came to a rolling stop, a squirming bundle of fur in my arms. My first thoughts weren't if the dog was okay, or what had hit me. I knew the answers to those - it was a busy street, so obviously a car had hit me and the dog better be okay after I shielded it with my body.

No, my first thought was why I couldn't move anything. My second was wondering who was screaming. I never got to make it to my third thought because everything went black.

That was how I found myself here.

….

"I hate sand," I declared to myself and not for the first time. Sand was a blight upon the galaxy — it got everywhere, even the place where it should be impossible to get to just because it didn't care about how tight or solid your clothes are. It would find a way to get down your pants, into your socks and firmly plant itself wherever nook and cranny that would irritate the most.

To prove the point, I pushed my makeshift goggles up and rubbed a few grains of black sand out of my eyes. Which probably didn't help since I'm sure I was just rubbing dust and more sand into them, but it was the thought that counts.

"I need better goggles," I muttered, blinking a few times to make sure that whatever was left in my eyes wasn't going to irritate me for the rest of the day. Satisfied, I returned the thread-thin, ripped rag back to its rightful place. Murky glass let me see through it, and the lenses were probably the problem. They were stitched in hazardly, giving sand all the opportunity it needed to slip into the small gaps in the cloth.

With a small huff, I turned my attention back to my work. Dust covered hands tipped with filthy fingernails - a far, far, far cry from the soft and clean hands of before, I grabbed a superconductor that took the form of a long tube and started turning. As my body worked, my mind wandered, as it so often did.

_I'm lucky that I got here first. _Amazingly so. The black sand oceans of Cadinth had a habit of swallowing starships whole so a quick response was everything for scavengers, such as myself. Not exactly sure what happened, but a quick battle took place between someone and another. Obviously, someone lost and was shot down, otherwise, I wouldn't be stripping the Y-wing for useful parts.

The tail fin marked it as the property of the Republic, but I was just going to ignore that. For one, we were in Empire territory, and two, I invoked the ancient right of finders keepers, losers weepers. Meaning, it was mine up until someone bigger and meaner than me found it and decided that it was theirs.

As I worked, I glanced behind me and scanned the tops of the dunes for any sign of life. Just as the last ten times I did it, I found nothing but it didn't help that pit of unease that formed in my gut.

Anything that seemed too good to be true always was. Someone could be waiting me out, letting me do all of the hard work before swooping in and taking everything from me.

Closing my eyes, I reached out with my near-useless ability that labeled me the Protagonist in this setting. A sense of awareness stretched out around me. It was...hard to put into words. Before this, before I found myself in the body of a child on this desert planet, I used to put my house key on my nightstand next to my phone every day after school. That way I never had to think about where it was or worry that I lost it.

Every morning I would roll out of bed, shower, get dressed and pocket my phone and key. And, every night, I would come home, place that key on my nightstand before hopping into bed. A well-oiled routine that was only broken by my abrupt arrival here.

With my ability, I gained that level of awareness of everything around me. I knew where all the little scraps and pieces broke off and landed during the crash, some that I would dig out and add to my collection. It didn't stretch very far, little more than fifty feet in every direction, which sounded like a lot but in the vast ocean of sand it seemed like nowhere near enough.

It was a large jump from the five feet or so that I started with and I could only hope I increased my range at the same speed. But, even if the range did grow, I couldn't help but feel cheated. My OP ability that isekai protagonists were supposed to have wasn't OP at all. In fact, it was next to useless.

Where was my high-class magic in a world that could only cast scrub tier spells? Where was my super powerful body that could punch planets lights out? If this was supposed to be an isekai, then why was it lacking all the fun bits from the isekai stories?!

_Still nothing. _That knot of tension stubbornly remained between my shoulder blades at the reassurance, even when I used the less specific version that gave a little nudge to my silent search for people. The small nudges that my useless ability gave me didn't tell me exact distances, but they were all in the direction of Esteria, one of the few spaceports on this godforsaken planet.

With a sigh that sounded suspiciously like a yawn, I turned my attention back to the task at hand just as the superconductor popped off. I reached out with my ability, catching it so it slowly descended into my hand because they were heavy.

At the very least, my nearly useless ability was more than a radar. I could use it for telekinesis as well, though it was fairly limited in that regard. I struggled a lot with lifting heavy things or crushing anything. Superconductors that weighed about ten pounds, I could manage that with only a little difficulty. After that, the heavier it got the more I had to exert some unseen mana bar. Lifting a ship out of the sands it crashed in was asking for the impossible for me.

Gently tossing the superconductor into my sand skiff, which was becoming dangerously overfull, I went back into the guts of the Y-wing. As one would expect in a crash, most of the components were damaged and what wasn't were in the following explosion that ensued when the fuel stores caught on fire. However, even damaged, the components could be sold for a profit. Or better, to be repaired with other broken components and sold for an even greater profit.

My ability nudged me to two things in particular. It was hard to describe in words, but it was like searching for something you knew you lost - you looked in the most obvious places first. My ability nudged me to look there for something. Using telekinesis, I accelerated my clearing of the path to it by unscrewing dozens of small bolts, unsealing seamless weldings and unhooking ports at the same time with my nearly useless ability.

I died and I could do things with my mind that I could do with a wrench. I probably saved ten whole minutes there. Even still, I was inside the actual guts of the ship within a few minutes.

My efforts revealed a small box. An intact small box. A small box that I never, ever, expected to see intact in a crash due to the habit of the fuel line exploding when on fire, and this was where the fuel lines connected.

"Perfect," I whispered underneath my breath, touching the hyperdrive almost lovingly. Relatively small, a one by two rectangle that was the center and arguably the most important part of the ship. Tenderly, I began unscrewing the superconductors and unhooking ports.

Within a minute, I unhooked the invaluable piece of equipment from its rightful spot, not believing my luck.

As in I actually didn't believe it.

_Is it broken? _It didn't look like it, but maybe there was a jostled piece on the inside. Whoever crashed the ship did a good job, all things considered. Well enough that they managed to walk away, if the fact there wasn't a corpse in the cockpit was anything to go by. There hadn't been any tracks in the black sand that covered this planet, but there was a sandstorm last night so the tracks could have just been wiped away.

_I have the parts to repair it. It'll just take time. _Time. Something I had plenty of but every second I spent on this desert hellhole was one too many. Regardless, I used my ability to gently float the priceless piece down and tenderly placed it in my skiff. It hovered over the ground, though greatly weighed down underneath the valuable cargo. I couldn't say that I got everything, but with a crash like this…

This was a republic fighter. I couldn't claim to understand anything about this place, but what I did know was that the Empire and the Republic were enemies. They were enemies that have been enemies for literally thousands of years. Actually, I'm pretty sure they were at war at the moment. So, a republican fighter on this planet meant bad things for the Empire.

I hadn't heard of any battle taking place, so that meant this was a lone agent. A lone agent that probably survived. Meaning, that lone agent was probably carrying some super-valuable information that was vital to the war effort. Going by anime logic, it wouldn't be long before the Sith investigated the crashed ship.

I did not want to be here when they were. Scraps weren't worth a second trip.

Then I turned my attention to the second thing my ability was nudging me towards. I had already cleared most of the way to it, so it only took a short minute to get to a scorched wall. Or, rather, the panel that made up the wall. Reaching out, I unsealed it, moving it to the side as my eyes searched for what it might contain. If it wasn't for my ability, I would have missed it entirely.

Hidden inside a tube was a datastick. It almost looked like a USB, but narrower. I looked down at it with some suspicion, turning it over to see if it had any warning to not look at what it contained.

For a split second, I was half tempted to leave it here. Whatever was on it, it was worth someone going out of their way to hide it. Given that this was a Republican ship shot down in Sith territory, I'm guessing that it was nothing I wanted to poke my nose into. Or, just as likely, I could trade it for some of the final parts that I needed.

But, my ability guided me towards it. That same ability that warned me of danger. I found it difficult to trust something that I didn't understand, but looking at my abilities track record, it hadn't lead me astray yet. So, against my better judgment, I tucked the data stick into my pocket.

With my payday firmly secured, I walked over to the driver's seat and hopped in. I reached out with my ability, searching for anyone nearby but finding no one. I looked up to see the dull blue sky hanging above, not a single cloud in sight to offer a hint of protection from the two suns in the sky.

"Something's going to go wrong," I told myself, feeling from more alarmed at my stroke of good fortune than overjoyed. No matter how I looked at it, this ship was an Event Flag. The Sith would be coming to this relatively useless planet. The Republic agent would be trying to get off-planet, which would eventually rope whatever poor smuggler they convinced to help them into a great big mess since we were deep in Sith territory.

...I should stay out of town for a few days. Just to avoid any possible flag tripping. I wanted off this planet, but not that bad.

Grabbing the rope tied to the front, I used my ability to help pull it over the sand dunes. It was far, far, far, far too heavy for me to even think about moving it without help. All the while I reached out and did the same to the ship. Underneath where it crashed, I felt the countless grains of sand before I used my ability to shift them outwards.

I didn't so much as glance over my shoulder as the ship began to steadily sink underneath the sand. Much like a ship in water, it steadily sunk as it took on more and more sand and it faded from view entirely. The sand smoothed out, replicating what the dune would have looked like before the crash.

Nothing so much as hinted that the crash ever happened at all. If the Sith found it then I knew they were specifically searching for it. If they were, then I was going to hand it over to them as soon as I could and call it a day.

I kept walking, erasing my trail with every step.

…

My base was a sand dune. Or rather, hidden inside a sand dune. Yet again reaching out with my ability, I found that I was alone. With a single gesture, sand blew away from the entrance to my home and revealed a steel door. The sand muffled the grinding sound as I forcefully opened it as well, revealing a tattered sheet to keep out stray sand.

With one last look over my shoulder, I started pulling my skiff in.

My base was larger than needed. Especially considering that it was the cargo hold of a crashed freighter. Most of the ship was too damaged to bother clearing out but I knew it was old. Very old. So old that no one knew it was here, buried underneath a mountain of sand only to be discovered purely by accident.

It took a month to stealthy alter the dunes enough that a reasonable path could be cleared to it. It took another month to make it readily accessible and weeks to clear it of sand and whatever critters took up residence. That was two years ago.

Fifty feet tall and nearly a hundred feet long, I had plenty of space for projects and my things. A bed rested next to the door, flanked by open creates with makeshift shelves for clothes and things. A small table nearby and a bent chair salvaged from the cafeteria of this ship for meals, which left a lot of room.

It left a lot of empty space to fill and fill it I did. Hundreds of parts of varying shapes and sizes, almost like an assembly line. Though, it looked far more impressive than it was. Everything left in here was junk that other scrappers passed over. Dozens of broken parts would be pieced together to make one functioning one. Mostly from sites that were picked clean of the good stuff and were slowly gathered through the years.

A cash farm, as it were. Especially considering that actual farming was impossible. Dirt wasn't a thing on Cadinth and moisture farming required very specific equipment. Not that I could do those things at all, because it took licenses to sell food and water. Getting them as a slave was impossible. Getting them as an escaped slave was extra impossible.

All for one thing that took up most of the room.

"I've got something for you," I told the brick hanging by support platforms. A brick with the aspirations of becoming a flying brick.

Twenty feet long, ten feet wide and ten feet tall and, as mentioned, very much shaped like a brick. Two large ion thrusters on the back, smaller ones dotting the sides, top, and bottom. A seamless metallic gray since aesthetics was the very last concern I had. All of the weldings were, once again, thanks to my ability.

A cockpit filled with more salvaged equipment that also served as the entrance to the living area. In the limited space not being used for fuel, equipment or storage was the bedroom. The chair, once autopilot was engaged, slid back and served as a bed while allowing me to roll off of it to a rudimentary kitchen - which just translated to a place where I could pour a liquid on dehydrated nutrient meals to eat. It wasn't a lot of room, but it was enough for me to stretch my legs and not go insane from the streaks of light of hyperspace.

Abandoning subtly, I used my ability to unload the entire skiff at once. Superconductors, computer components, fuel lines, and countless bits and pieces flew to their rightful places on the shelves in a flood. I couldn't lift larger things very well, but over time I figured out how to move a lot of smaller things. Mostly to get rid of sand. With absolute precision, they settled at the same time, letting me focus on disassembling the hyperdrive to check for damage.

"Rocket science isn't what it used to be," I commented with some amusement. It was to be expected, in hindsight. Space flight entered the civilian market. All of the components to build your own spaceship could be bought on the ExtroNet and they could be bought on the cheap. Well, you could if you didn't live on Cadinth. Guides for building spaceships were available for purchase. It wasn't cheap, by any means, but it is entirely possible for one kid to build one on his own purely through scavenging.

All it needed were a few pieces, one of which was the hyperdrive.

Pulling up to my ship, I looked at where the hyperdrive was supposed to go. It would take some delicate work to attach everything in it, so I couldn't risk my makeshift tools for this. Closing my eyes, I reached out with my ability, feeling my ship respond almost physically. I dreamed of this moment since I decided to build a ship to get off this planet. I knew exactly what to do.

Hours passed as I hooked in wires, connected superconductors, and fused metal into place with my ability. It was beyond tedious work, but that was okay. I'd rather be bored out of my mind for hours on end rather than spread out across the galaxy because I didn't double-check every wire.

I couldn't spare not giving the hyperdrive my full attention, so it came as a shock when I finally opened my eyes and realized that my body was stiff. I must have been sitting there for hours. About eight, if the clock tucked into a corner could be believed. Standing up, my small body didn't make the sounds I was used to when I did the same stretches in my old life.

There were no cracks and pops. Just the feeling of bliss as I stretched out taut muscles. I guess that would change once this body began to grow.

Ignoring my growling stomach, I walked up to the hyperdrive to see that it was firmly in place, looking like it belonged there. I reached out with my ability, feeling how the hyperdrive seemed to harmonize with the machine.

I had the parts of a spaceship, but I was lacking an OS to run system checks for me, so I was stuck doing it the hard way with trial and error. Eventually, if I paid close attention, I learned that when I felt that a piece would work with my ability, then it usually did. I still didn't know exactly what my ability was, but if it couldn't be overpowered, then the least it could be was multifaceted.

Despite my progress, it wasn't done yet. For starters, I would need an OS to handle the system. Building one from scratch was well beyond my abilities, so I would have to get my hands on an astrodroid of some kind to rip it out of its droid skull. Not to mention, the hyperdrive needed hypermatter to make my ship anything other than an expensive brick.

I didn't even know how I was going to get any of that. Not to mention, this brick had to get through the atmosphere, survive in the vacuum of space and make it through hyperspace. Getting a hyperdrive was a pretty big step forward, but the finish line was still miles away.

A grin found its way onto my face. I'm sure the other back home, back on Earth in my old life, would have called it creepy. And they were probably right. My eyes didn't exactly compliment a young face streaked with dust, so, if anything, it was probably worse now. I could practically hear Komichi teasingly scolding me.

I was going to see them again. It took me five years to take the first step to get home, and I didn't care if it took me another five to take the next. Ten years, a hundred or a thousand. It didn't make a difference to me. One day, I would leave this life behind and return to my old one, to my home, with my family.

And there was absolutely nothing this galaxy could do to stop me.

…

The next chapter is currently available on my , so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!


	2. Stage 2

People have more than five senses. Sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell - those made up most of them, but there were other senses. Not stuff like a sense of time, sense of self and so on, but a nearly tangible sense used to observe the world around us. A sixth sense. Most summarized is instincts, warning us of danger.

I never felt it before, but when I opened my eyes, I couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Every hair stood on end, the course blanket that covered me couldn't protect me from the chill that raced down my spine. It was the feeling that I could only explain as a certainty that something bad was going to happen.

Wasting no time, I threw off my blanket, pushing myself out of the cot that served as my bed. My gaze swept over the interior of my base, every shadow a suspect. My heart started to hammer at my ribs, the feeling not going away. Keeping my breathing even, trying to remain calm as questions bombarded my mind, I reached out with my ability to find that my base was still empty. There was only me.

That knowledge didn't make the feeling go away. Something was wrong.

My gaze landed on a blaster I had picked up some time ago, but never fired except to make sure that it worked. I picked it up, the weapon was deceptively heavy in my hands as I swallowed thickly. Holding it didn't make me feel any better. If anything, I felt worse because the feeling still didn't go away.

Then I heard it. A small thump. It practically deafened me since there was only the gentle hum of life support in my base. My gaze shot to the door of my home, my stomach dropping to my feet. As if to confirm my fears, I heard the thump again. Louder this time. Then another and another. Someone was digging out sand to get to my ship.

My ship was found. I was found. How?-

No, there's no point in panicking about how or why. Whoever they were, they were here. And they were trying to get in.

I clenched my blaster, my mind racing. What could I do about them? Taking in a shaky breath, I reached out with my ability, searching for whoever was on the other end of the door. I felt their presence - three of them. No, four, except the fourth was further away. Most likely the boss watching his underlings work.

A plan formed in my mind. It would be a stretch to call it a good plan, but considering the circumstances, it was all that I had. I reached out with my ability, picking up a dozen odds and ends to hopefully disguise my ship. Then I put another dozen scattered about, trying to make it look like a pile of junk. Then I shut off all the lights, plunging my base into total darkness.

All the while, I moved to the door. I didn't have any cameras on the outside, so I had no idea who they were or, more importantly, what they were armed with. The thumps became far more rhythmic, they had cleared a spot on the door. I crouched down, hiding behind some cover as I trained my blaster on the entrance, a thin sheet blocking my view.

Then the thumping stopped. I waited. And waited. And waited. And kept waiting. Time might have stretched because of the tension, but right when I was considering that they might have left, I saw a glow coming from the door. The glow of melting metal. They were cutting through the door.

Crap. I considered lowering the door to save myself some trouble, but the future didn't matter at the moment. Instead, I forced myself to wait until they cut a large circle into the door, the center of it falling inwards with a heavy thunk. There wasn't a stream of light outside of the glowing metal, so it was still night time outside. I could use that information. My clothing was dark to blend into the sands, at night they wouldn't be able to see me.

I heard a sharp crack that nearly made my heart jump out of my mouth, but when I saw a green glow through the thin sheet, I realized it was a glowstick. Three of them. The first stepped through the hole heavily, crunching sand underneath their boots. The glow got closer and closer until it was practically touching the curtain.

Making myself as small as possible, preparing for what was to come. A hand reached out to grab the sheet, yanking it down to reveal a Dug. An alien that crouched low to the floor, walking on its arms while a blaster was clutched in its feet. In a way, it looked like a hairless cat with a longer snout and skin that hung off around its mouth.

He scanned the interior, holding his glow stick high to look over my base. It didn't take him long to notice that it was filled with scrap. It let out a low whistle, a signal because the others started filing in. An all-clear. They didn't know I was here. Perfect.

Another came in. Thanks to the glow, I recognized him as a Rodian. Deep blue skin, large black eyes and a mouth that reminded me of an anteater, with antennas that looked like the face of a trumpet. He was taller than the Dug, holding a blaster rifle in his hands as he crawled through the opening. He took a sweeping look over my home, tossing a glow stick into the darkness to reveal more scrap. "You go right."

The Dug nodded, walking forward as the Rodian went left. As they did so, a third member of the group raiding my home stepped through the entrance they made. A Twi'lek woman stepped through, her skin a deep red with the tendrils that ran off the back of her head marked with tribal tattoos. Her gaze swept over the place, forcing me to make myself as small as possible so she wouldn't notice that I was here.

"Anything?" She asked as the other two slowly explored my base, not noticing the ship yet but it wouldn't be long.

"Looks like whoever lives here is gone," the Rodian said, looking at my cot. "One bed," he added, flipping my cot over incase anything was hidden underneath. So, they weren't looking for me specifically. That begged the question of how in the hell they found me?

As if to answer my question, the Twi'lek spoke again. "The tracker leads here, so find it," she ordered, so maybe she was the boss. But what tracker? When I was taking everything apart, I never noticed a tracker. Was she talking about the datastick? Had that lead them here?! I knew I should have dropped that thing where I found it!

Before I could rip into myself for not passing the ship over because it was too high risk, the Twi'lek walked into the room, confident that there was no one here. Making myself as small as possible, I stepped out of my hiding place and soundlessly snuck out of my base. Peeking around the corner, I didn't see the fourth raider standing guard, so I was free to climb out the entrance.

Once I was a couple of feet out, climbing up the hole they made to get to my base as quietly as I could. I peeked over the edge, using my ability to make my eyesight better - a trick I learned a long time ago - to see that there was no one standing guard. The fourth person I sensed wasn't a raider. On the back of a hovercar, there was a cage with a woman in it. Despite the pitch-black darkness that smothered the world since Candith didn't have a moon, our eyes met.

She was a human around the age that I had died. Her blonde hair had a single braid in it that went by one of her ears, her sea-blue eyes were wide as dinner plates as her jaw dropped. I was the first to look away, checking behind me before I began to make my way to her. I crouched low, tracing the footsteps that were already there to hide my own. It only took a moment to reach her.

"Who are you?" She asked in a low whisper, shifting in her cage to come closer and revealing a collar on her neck. A slave collar. The inside was lined with needles to prevent it from ever resting comfortably, a vial of paralytic poison in it to knock out the weather when they tried to take it off. Given her lack of slave markings, she was a recent acquisition. And judging by the blood and burnt spots on her robes, she didn't go down without a fight.

"Can you fight?" I asked, turning my attention to the cage that held her. Even her hands and feet were bound. Whoever this was, they didn't want her getting away. That was a good sign because two vs three sounded a lot better than one vs three.

"I- yes, I can," she confirmed with a nod- well, she tried to but winced when the needles pricked her skin.

"What did they track here?" I questioned, going to the simple padlock on it. I gave it an experimental tug to see that it was firmly locked. Then I used my ability to force it open.

"A data- you can use the force!" She exclaimed in a stage whisper. The what? The force? What kind of name was that?

"Shh," I hushed her, glancing at the ruined entrance to my home. The three raiders didn't come running out blasters firing so that was a good thing. "What did they track?" I asked, wanting to know whatever it was that got my home broken into.

"I…" she cut herself off, as I opened the cage, a torn expression on her face as she looked at me. Then she came to a decision as she started scooting out of the cage, sitting on the edge since her legs were still bound. "A datastick. I have to get it back, it's extremely important. Lives are at stake."

I knew it. I called this. Finding that ship was a Plot Advancement Flag. What else could it be? Up until this point, everything was clearly a character-building arc I was meant to go through by living on a harsh desert planet before the Plot decided to change things up by throwing in a very clear change that signified that I've raised a Plot Advancement Flag. Now, all of a sudden, I stumble into a plot between two rival empires and apparently this girl was in possession of extremely valuable information?

The universe is going to have to try a lot harder if it wanted to trick me into following the Plot. As soon as I can, I'm exiting stage left and going back to my old life.

"I hid it in a vacuum tube in case I was captured by the sith, but I crashed. These people captured me. They're extremely dangerous," she explained as I used my ability- the force, apparently to undo the bindings on her hands and legs. Her hands went to her neck, but I stopped her.

"Don't tug on it. It'll knock you out," or worse. I eyed the collar with more than a little resentment, but my time wearing one proved to be beneficial. Using my abili- the force, it was a simple matter of imagining a small layer of an invisible force between the needles and her neck, before pushing outwards. The collar hinges couldn't take it and it popped open.

The girl let out a breath of relief, pushing herself to her feet as she tenderly prodded her neck. "Thank you," she breathed, a hand pressed against her side where she was hit with a blaster. I just nodded in response - the thanks felt undeserved. I didn't save her out of the goodness of my heart, but to even the odds. Given that she was apparently a special agent or something, I assumed that meant she could fight.

I heard a loud crash coming from my base. Probably one of the bounty hunters getting frustrated and taking it out on my shelves of junk. That was fine. The only thing important in there was my ship. While I was distracted by that, the girl hobbled over to the front of the skiff - oi, you weren't trying to leave, were you-

My unspoken question was answered when she reached into a compartment to grab a cylinder. Before I could ask what it was, she turned around to face me. "You have my thanks, youngling, but you should hide. I can take it from here. Don't come out until then I come and get you, okay?" With that, she started to walk towards my base-

"Wait," I hissed, making her pause. The entire reason I left my base in the first place was to avoid fighting in there. Any risk of damage to my ship was too much. "We should ambush them out here. They're expecting a fight inside, so they won't expect a fight on their way out after they have what they came for."

The girl hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "you speak wisdom, youngling." She agreed, gesturing to the lip of the tunnel they formed to get to my base, "hide there."

I swallowed a complaint, though only because the place she pointed out would offer a good vantage point. Instead, I gave her a curt nod as I rushed over to the vantage point, still making myself as small as possible as I settled into the black sand. Thanks to my own dark clothing, and the lack of light, I was practically invisible.

The girl, on the other hand, chose to hide on the other side of the tunnel. Once she ducked down, I couldn't see her since the light glow from the glow sticks leading up to the door couldn't reach that far. We waited for the imperials. Each crash sounded impossibly loud, and each time I wondered what they were wrecking in there as they searched the place. I left the datastick on my desk, so it shouldn't be that hard to find!

I was never one to believe rumors, but maybe there was something true about these Sith guys being all-around jerks. If they were trashing the place just because they felt like it…! However, eventually, they got bored or they finally found what they were looking for. The sounds of their footsteps drew closer with every second before I heard them step onto the sand.

"That was unusually easy-" One commented, one of the men before a sharp sound cut them off.

*_Pssshhew_*

The sound seemed to echo in the vast desert for a split second before I saw the source of the noise a split second before she descended on the imperials, illuminated by a bright blue light from the tube she picked up earlier. A beam saber of some kind. The Rodian reacted first, his blaster going out, only to...be yanked from his hands? The same for the Dug, with a movement she disarmed the two aliens. She pushed one of them into the sand dune hard enough the Dun was buried in it, while the other she made a grasping motion towards then flung the Rodian with a flick of her wrist.

The Rodian sailed through the air, only to come to an abrupt stop when he landed on the skiff. I don't think either of them were dead, but they were certainly out of the fight.

My jaw dropped at the sight. My ability, the one that was supposed to mark me as the Protagonist, wasn't unique to me. No, not only was it not unique to me, I could never blast two aliens with so much force! My stupor was broken when the sands collapsed to the point that it nearly took me down. Rolling over, I realized that there were only two there. Where was the-

*_Pssshhew_*

A deep red glow emitted from the hole, another beam saber that must belong to the Twi'lek. "I'm impressed you managed to escape, padawan. I didn't think you had it in you," she commented, a dark chuckle rumbling in the back of her throat as she stepped through the hole. Like the Protagonist I was suspecting her to be, the girl, or Padawan, waited for her to settle in position instead of launching a surprise attack.

"I'm just full of surprises," Padawan said, throwing a cocky smirk on her face as she- Don't look at me! Thankfully, it must have been dark enough that Twi'lek didn't notice. "So don't think that this will end as it did before."

"And why would it change?" Twi'lek asked, striding forward with utter confidence. "A lone padawan, wounded and dehydrated. Though, you're so poorly trained I could defeat you without those handicaps." I saw Twi'lek cock her head to the side, Padawan's smirk falling. "Ah, did I touch a nerve? I suppose that wound is rather fresh...but, I suppose I should expect failure from the padawan of such a failure of a Jedi."

Padawan didn't respond with words, but action. She launched her self at Twi'lek, her beam saber flashing about, clashing against Twi'lek's red with a harsh, but sharp fizzing sound. Twi'lek redirected the blow, Padawan going to press the attack, but then the fight devolved into movements that I could barely follow if it weren't for the flashing lights of their beam sabers.

They didn't fight like a normal sword fight. It was too fast-paced, their counters too fluid, the attacks coming at all angles as both women gracefully dodged and evaded their enemy's weapon. The air was filled with the sound of their beam saber clashing, the pitch changing with every block.

It was so...flashy. Like this was a rehearsed fight rather than an actual battle for their lives. They never lost their footing in the loose sand, no matter how close an attack managed to come, nicking the loose robes that they wore, but no strike had managed to land. But, even as I struggled to follow the fight as they slowly made their way towards the skiff, Padawan forced to give ground, it was clear who was winning.

"What's wrong?" Twi'lek asked, her tone mocking as she leaned out of the way of an attack that would have taken her head off, twirling on her heel to deliver a blow to Padawans knee, only for it to be blocked. Then, by shifting her beam saber ever so slightly, Twi'lek blocked a thrust aimed at her heart. "You were doing so well! Let your anger fuel you, give in to the Dark Side. You might even defeat me and avenge your master if you do."

Padawan's face didn't so much as twitch, her expression grave as sweat dripped from her brow with every movement. I watched her divert a thrust before lashing out with a hand towards Twi'lek. Twi'lek matched the movement, their hands so close they were nearly touching before Twi'lek won out, blasting Padawan back much like she had done to the Rodian.

She landed heavily in a heap, black sand going up everywhere. She scrambled to her feet, but she didn't need to. Twi'lek approached at a pace that could only be described as leisurely. "Use the pain. The fear. The rage! I didn't just kill your master - I tortured him. I started by cutting off his hands and feet, and I just kept cutting up until he died from the shock." There was a savage glee in her voice, the darkness that seemed to cling to her growing that much more sinister.

But, why was she doing that? She said that using the Dark Side could give Padawan the power to beat her. Even if that wasn't true, why was she trying to make her use the Dark Side at all? It didn't make any sense at all. Though, at the very least, Twi'lek's gloating gave me an opening.

I knew what was going to happen next before it happened. Padawan pushed herself to her feet, her beam saber thrusting out. At that same moment, I reached out with the Force. I couldn't throw people around like ragdolls, but what I could do was lift a few grains of sand from Twi'lek's robe and send them into her eyes. Twi'lek flinched, blinking to clear her eyes. Her hesitation only lasted a split second, a blink, but it cost Twi'lek her life.

Padawan completed her thrust, her bright blue beam saber punching through her chest. The stench of burnt flesh filled the air, the incredible heat coming off the blades cooking her insides. Then, Padawan simply turned off her saber, making Twi'lek fall to her knees, then her face. Dead.

Padawan looked over at me, breathing heavily but she managed a small smile. "It seems I owe you my life twice over, youngling," she commented, somehow knowing what I had done. I didn't respond, simply hopping down to make my way over to her as Padawan pulled out the datastick I had found at the crash site.

"What happens now?" I asked, looking at the other two very alive intruders.

"Now, I find a way to get off of this planet," Padawan said, all but collapsing onto her butt, her breathing was deep, but even. I nodded, having anticipated that response. It was very...Protagonist of her. After seeing that, I had sincere doubts about my role of Protagonist in this story.

Actually...now that I think about it, I had more than just doubts. I was building a spaceship, and she needed off this planet. I knew exactly where this was going. This was one of the oldest narrative plot devices in the book. I wasn't the Protagonist at all! I was her ticket off this planet.

But...at the same time...she could also be my ticket. Huh. It seems my transition from Protagonist to Side-Character was a seamless one.

"Thank you for assistance, youngling," Padawan said, pushing herself back to her feet. "You've-" she started, but she swayed dangerously, nearly collapsing on the spot.

"You need to rest," I commented, turning my attention to the fallen Twi'lek. Or, rather, the fallen beam saber laying in the black sand. I reached down, noticing that it was surprisingly heavy for such a slender tube. However, before I could tuck it into one of my pockets, an unseen force took it from my hands.

"I can't," Padawan denied with a shake of her head. "Time is of the essence, I have to get this datastick to the Republic as soon as possible-"

"And how are you going to get here?" I cut her off, my gaze lingering on the beam saber that now rested in her hand. I would be getting that back sooner or later. "Do you have a way to get off? Or know where to find a ride that won't sell you out for a handful of credits?" My words stuck home, earning a wince from her.

"I-"

"You can't save the Republic if you're dead," I pressed, seeing the resigned acceptance slowly appear on her face. She gave a shallow nod, closing her eyes as she did so.

"You are right," Padawan agreed, sounding frustrated even as she admitted it. "I must be patient. Master Okkur always told that…" she trailed off, looking sad before she mentally pushed the emotion away. "But, I have troubled you enough, young one. I can find my own lodging, and I shall take care of the other two so your home will remain undiscovered."

It would be a lie to say that I wasn't tempted by that a little bit. To just wash my hands of the situation and wish her the best. Maybe if I hadn't seen her fight like that, I might have, but now I had too many questions to simply let it be. She didn't just have my ability, the Force, she was better with it too.

I scowled as I started to make my way towards my vandalized home, "just follow me already." I said, glancing over as the Dug...dug itself from a pile of sand. As I moved to aim my blaster at him, Padawan was quick to lower it with a hand.

"Allow me, youngling," she said, waiting for the Dug to clear the sand. Before it could so much as say anything, Padawan raised her hand. For a moment, I thought she was going to ragdoll him again, but instead, in a calm voice, she spoke, "you will forget all that transpired here."

"I-I will forget all that transpired here," Dug repeated, his tone odd. My heart went still in my chest, my mind racing. That was mind control!

"You and your friend crashed and are making their way to the nearest city," Padawan continued, lowering her hand as Dug repeated what she said. Then, before Dug could get up, she added, "you will leave the floatcar."

I watched the Dug get up, looking normal, though maybe it was because I wasn't familiar enough with his species, but it didn't seem like he was acting like a mindless zombie. He seemed normal as he marched his way towards the Rodian as Padawan said the same things to him. After that, they began their march towards Esteria. It was a two-day trip on foot, so they would be fine.

I watched them leave for a long moment before we continued into my home. Reaching out with my ability, I turned the lights back on and it became clear that they had been trashing the place for the fun of it. Shelves and their contents were knocked over, covering the floor, my bed was tossed around, my work desk was crumpled up like a ball along with everything that was on it.

"Oh," Padawan said as she stepped inside but I paid her no mind, the only thing I had it in me to care about the moment was my ship. Making my way towards it, I cleared it of clutter, ignoring a gasp from Padawan as my ship was revealed. "Did you build that?" She asked as I inspected it for damage.

A few dent plates, but the damage was superficial. I would have to do a deep check just to make sure, but I think it was spared of damage for the most part. "I did," I answered, distractedly, finally giving her my attention.

Padawan looked around at the damage with mournful eyes, likely assuming that I cared more for the junk than I actually did. I had more than a few questions about...pretty much everything at this point, but the first and foremost in my mind was the most obvious.

"What's on the datastick?" I asked, turning to face her seriously. Padawan's gaze snapped to me, her mouth opening to explain, only to hesitate for a moment. Something flashed over her features, almost like a grimace, before she let out a soft sigh of defeat.

"The Sith are coming to the Republic with an offer of peace, but it is a trap. I don't know what they have planned, but I am certain that it will end with the deaths of tens of thousands, if not millions, should their plan succeed." Padawan explained, her tone as grave as death itself as she pinned a fierce glare at the datastick in her hands.

"My master and I were the only hopes to stop their vile plan. And now...it's just me."

I called it.

...

The next chapter is currently available on my Pat er on, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!


	3. Stage 3

"My master and I were meeting up with a contact in the Empire - apparently my master saved the life of a general in the Empire, and when he learned of what the Empire had planned, he reached out to master Okkur. He...was discovered and killed, but not before he gave us this datastick. Then master Okkur sacrificed himself to make sure that I escaped," Padawan explained unprompted as she stared down at the cup of water I gave her.

I paused putting everything back in its rightful place. In the end, it was early in the morning, so there was little point in going to bed again.

"The Empire knew about the exchange since the beginning. They placed a tracer in the datastick. I only found out when I was pulled out of hyperspace in orbit and ambushed. I managed to take down quite a few, but they shot me down…" She trailed off, taking a sip of her water. I don't think she was really talking to me, or rather she was talking at me. "I crashed, but I managed to convince my captors that the datastick had been destroyed by hiding it in a vacuum tube on the ship, blocking its signal until you found it."

Padawan's gaze swept over my home, lingering on the ship. "I am sorry for the trouble I have caused you," she said, sounding so...nice. The more she spoke, the longer I spent around her, the more it became clear that she was a Nice Girl. Was it just because she was the Protagonist? Despite her attempts in painting herself in a good light, I grew more and more suspicious by the second.

When I didn't reply, she continued to try to make small talk. "This place...do you live here alone, youngling?" She asked after a small beat of silence. I focused on the shelf before me for a moment before jerking my head in a nod. "I see...I...am sorry for your loss," she said, assuming there was a reason for why I was living here, alone, so far away from the nearest city.

"Don't be," I dismissed. Being sorry for someone's loss, saying hearts and prayers - ultimately, they were empty words. It was impossible to understand the loss that another felt when they lost family because everyone had different relationships with their family. Someone that lost a mother can't understand the pain of someone that lost a brother, just as someone who lost a son can't understand the loss of someone losing a father. It was similar, but never truly the same.

My relationship with my parents was...nonexistent, for the most part. They were corporate slaves, working all day every day, and while I did respect them, I wasn't close to them. Already, I could barely remember what my father looked like, and I only remembered my mother so clearly because she looked like an older Komichi. The loss of my parents was minimal. The loss of my little sister was far graver, but I soothed that ache with the knowledge that it was only temporary.

"Did you collect all of this? Alone?" She asked, obviously fishing for information. To be fair, she was on a hostile planet and she still didn't know my name.

"I did," I answered shortly, taking a breath as I reached out with my ab- the Force. It was difficult to describe lifting things with my mind, but it was as if I were willing the objects to defy gravity. I wanted them to rise, so they did. A dozen different parts of varying shapes and sizes lifted off the ground at the same time the shelf did. After they settled in their rightful places, I moved onto the next batch of junk on the floor.

"You are very skilled with the Force, youngling," Padawan commented, earning a soft scoff from me. That was patronizing beyond belief coming from her. She threw people around like they were nothing, she used mind control, and how she had moved...I couldn't do any of that. She was simply giving empty flattery.

Even still, my face burned as I set another half dozen pieces onto the shelf. "Not really," I answered simply. Comparing what she did earlier wounded and dehydrated to me on my best day showed just how underpowered I was in this Isekai.

"Did...you have a teacher? A master to show you the ways of the Force?" Padawan asked, not managing to hide how loaded that question was. If I had to guess, knowing the tropes of Light Novels and the like - Twe'like was a dark side user, meaning that she was the bad guy, while Padawan used the nondark side, meaning she was a good guy. We were in Empire controlled territory, so she wondered if I was a dark side user, thus a bad guy.

"I didn't have anyone teach me," I answered with a shake of my head. "Until today, I didn't know anyone else could do the things I could." Much less do them better.

Padawan made a show of looking surprised, "truly? You must be very strong with the Force then to have such fine control," she offered up an empty compliment, trying to find one thing about my ability that was actually praiseworthy. "But…" She trailed off, giving me a searching look, "you hide yourself so well. I can't feel anything coming from you...And to be self-taught...if it weren't for Master Okkur, then I would have never have mastered the Force as much as I have. Not that I am a master or even close! I am just a padawan."

I see. Not only was she the Protagonist, but she was also serving as an exposition dump. Despite living here for years now, I knew very little about this new universe I found myself in. Over time, I learned the broad strokes - Empire vs Republic war that has raged for something like thirty years, First Contact with aliens was tens of thousands of years ago, and that was about it. Candith wasn't just a port in a storm, it was the very last port anyone in their right mind would willingly go to. It was a haven for pirates, mercenaries, and criminal cartels and slavers that existed only because the most powerful gangs played lip service to the Empire.

"What is the Force?" I asked, turning my attention to my ship, unsealing a panel to inspect the inner damage. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Padawan stiffen at the question, surprised, but clearly pleased.

And she told me. In a lot of words spoken with a calm serenity that slowly painted a picture in my mind. She practiced the light side of the Force, who were the self-described good guys of the universe that upheld peace and respected life and a bunch of other things that made them better than the vile Sith. The Force, apparently, was some sort of unseen glue that connected the entire galaxy together, and those that were force-sensitive could manipulate it with several abilities.

What I got out of her info dump was that I was not only underpowered but as far as force-sensitive people went, I was pretty much useless. I was less sure of her opinions on the Sith and the Empire because it was a very common tactic to treat your enemies as if they were irredeemably evil, so her claims that the Sith were pure evil rang a little hollow. Just as her words that the Jedi were bastions of humanity and compassion rang just as hollow because it was hardly like she was unbiased. .

"But, you've never had a teacher? All that you can do, it's all self-taught?" Padawan repeated for clarification after her exposition dump was done.

"It is. At first, it started with moving pebbles, and stuff, then I started using it to get sand off me," I explained, recalling the slow progress I made over the years. At first, I used it to make my heavy work a little lighter, but when people learned I was more advanced than I should be for my age, they had me working on computers and droids. Repair, upgrades, and the like.

"Is that how you escaped from slavery?" Padawan asked, making me go stiff, almost dropping a shelf that I was in the middle of straightening out. "I...saw the scar on the back of your neck. I recognized it."

A hand went back to trace the straight line that ran along my spine, feeling a small bump where an explosive still resided. A reminder of my few years spent in slavery.

"...yeah," I confirmed with a small nod of my head. In this life, I wasn't born as a son to two corporate slaves, but actual slaves. As soon as I was born, I was microchipped with an explosive to track me and kill me if I tried to flee. I barely knew my parents in this life - both were sold off early on in my new life, back when everything was a blur and I was struggling to accept my new reality. "I short-circuited it, then ran away. I lived in Esteria for a year, but then I found this place and figured it was safer."

"I see," Padawan said, closing her eyes. "You have endured much, youngling, but you have remained tall despite the hardships you have faced." She complimented, and it was only then did I notice how she was speaking. At first, I chalked it up as a difference in upbringing - it seemed foolish to compare her to a teenager in my last life because, for one, I doubt she knew what a highschool was and, secondly, she was some kind of soldier.

However, how she was speaking was just soo...Padawan wasn't talking like herself. She was talking like what she thought whatever a Jedi would say in this situation.

I just shook my head, memories of the slave pens were all to quick to resurface. "Others suffered a lot more," I dismissed any praise. Without my ability, without the Force, I would still be stuck working for that droid shop I was sold to. Even being a lowly shop worker slave was still a fate far, far, far kinder than many suffered.

There was a small silence for a moment.

"Thank you for lodging me, youngling, but-" She started to get up, only to pause when I sent her a sharp look. She smiled lightly, more amused than anything, before lifting up her robe to reveal her wound. Over the past few years, I've seen more than my fair share of blaster wounds and the one that marked her torso wasn't one that happened recently. It looked weeks old, far in the process of becoming a nasty looking scar but nothing else.

"Force healing," Padawan supplied an answer for my unspoken question. "Master Okkur...we've been at war for so long now, that he decided to teach me more advanced techniques. Force healing, force suggestion, and force concealment." I see they were taking the Batman approach to naming their techniques. "He said that they were invaluable wartime skills…"

Okkur sounded like a pragmatic guy. "You've been staring at my ship for some time now," I stated bluntly, seeing her wince ever so slightly, realizing that she had been caught. I kept my eyes on her hands, wary of the force suggestion technique she just mentioned. I could see how this was going to go down all too easily - if I refused to let her use my ship to escape the planet, then she would 'convince me' to let her use it anyway.

People were people. Labels like good and bad were simply molds - perspectives that could change by simply looking at the situation from a different angle. If being a good guy meant you were good, then phrases like 'for the greater good' or 'lesser evil' wouldn't exist. I'm sure that stealing my ship was by far the lesser evil compared to letting the Empire perform whatever plan they had.

"I-" Padawan started to talk, but I couldn't give her justification for mind-controlling me to handing over the keys. "You...would be willing to help me?" Padawan ventured, sounding relieved. She practically sagged into my bed, her hands dropping back down to her empty cup of water.

"It doesn't work yet," I cut her off. "But, it's almost there. I installed the hyperdrive, but I don't have any fuel or an OS that can handle calculating hyperspeed travel." I explained, reaching out with the Force to pour her another glass. Water was extremely valuable on this planet, but if I was getting off it soon then I could afford to splurge a little with my reserves.

"You do not have to use your ship on me," Padawan offered half-heartedly. "I can see the time and care you have spent on it. I can steal a ship on my own," she pointed out but I was already shaking my head.

"Cadinth doesn't have much of an Empire presence, but if those plans are important as you said, then they're going to be locking down every spaceport. You won't be able to take off before you get shot down." I refuted, "and that's assuming that they don't have the planet blockaded."

I couldn't picture the scale of the Empire-Republic war. The closest thing I could compare it to was World War II, and only through a textbook. When entire planets were treated as cities, and armies that numbered in the millions - it was hard to imagine. If what I gathered from Padawan's explanation and metaknowledge thanks to my loner background, it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine that they would do whatever it took to make sure that no one could get off-planet or communicate with anyone

"Time is on their side. If they keep you here until the plan is completed, then they still win. You need a ship that can take off outside of the spaceports, and won't show up on any kind of space traffic registry." In other words, my ship. "What we need is an astrodroid and fuel."

"The Force does work in mysterious ways," Padawan said with a small laugh, smiling at me in a way that forced me to look away in embarrassment. And when she said the Force, I'm pretty sure she meant the Plot. "I promise you that you will be rewarded for this, young one. I'll make sure of it."

I glanced over at what will be a flying brick soon enough before I looked over at Padawan. "Getting off this planet will be reward enough for me," I said, not wanting to come across too greedy. Getting off this planet was just step one. The second would be finding out where Earth was and finding out if I was either in the distant future, another reality, or whatever else could explain my presence here.

"Perhaps you could join the Jedi order. After seeing this," Padawan gestured to my base, "and with your abilities, I'm positive you could become a Jedi Knight in no time."

That sounded like a compliment, so I took it as one.

"Then let's go steal a droid and some fuel to save the Republic."

* * *

The cities of Cadinth were dead. There was once an ancient race that had lived here, but they were gone long before other races had settled in their ruins. The buildings, despite how poorly they aged over thousands of years, they still held a futuristic look to them. They stretched high into the sky, the gray metal having long since dyed black, the glass windows were coated in dust. One building dominated the skyline, stretching all the way up to the cloudless skies above until you couldn't see the top of it.

Closer to the ground was far more colorful almost in spite of the black sand that got everywhere. Vibrant colors of cloth sheets that served as shields against the sand kicked up by the howling wind. Every single color in the spectrum that marked stalls lining the main roads. Like me, they sold various types of scrap, fifth-hand goods and so on.

I glanced over the aliens that stood behind their stalls, all of them sparing a look at me. Or, rather, the pile of scrap I had on my skiff. They varied from race to size, to color to everything. Even after a few years, it was a little odd knowing that aliens were real. Apparently, first contact happened thousands of years ago, so now aliens were ordinary. That took some getting used to.

It was an odd contrast between the people that lived here and the city. Everyone here looked rough, either slavers, slaves or ex-slaves and we looked the part. Even as rundown as it was, the city still looked like it belonged in the future, so it was as if the millions of people that lived here were simply vagrant squatters.

Eventually, I found my way to a central market that was once a park some thousand years ago. Despite it being so early, the market was already in full swing. People bartered, shouting over each other to be heard, waving their wares in the faces of anyone who walked by. It made me miss the quiet shopping of Chiba more than words could ever say.

"Is that it?" Padawan asked me, her voice low as I pulled my skiff behind me. Her face was uncovered, though she did wear a headdress now that blocked easy view from the sides. A lesson I learned in my old life was if you didn't want to stand out, then simply look like you belonged. Covering her face when there wasn't a sandstorm in coming was asking for people to be suspicious when it looked like the place was in the process of getting locked down.

I nodded, my gaze landing on what could be a port if you're standards were low enough. Half of the park was used for small ships to park at. For larger ships, there was a space elevator that they could dock at but that served as the seat of power for the Kin'song cartel, who more or less owned this city. Trying to steal from there was a death sentence.

Though, judging by the practical wall of imperial soldiers that were locking down the port, the same could be said for the lower port as well.

"I can get us the fuel. Are you sure you don't need any help getting the astrodroid?" Padawan pressed for the fifth time since we started our journey. Thanks to the floatcar, we managed to trip in a few hours.

"You focus on your task and I'll focus on mine," I shot back, my gaze lingering on the ship behind the wall of imperial soldiers, their flat black armor almost making them blend in. For a time, before I started building my own ship, I considered stealing one. It would have saved no small amount of time and effort, and I might have if it weren't for the fact that the odds were I'd steal a pirate's ship. If Disney movies taught me anything, they were rather touchy about that and they wouldn't be held back by a PG rating.

Padawan let out a small huff of laughter, "of course Master." She said with a small laugh followed by a bigger wince when I grimaced. "I- I am sorry. I...sometimes I make the mistake of thinking I'm funny."

"It's fine," I dismissed the issue easily, feeling awkward for making things awkward. "And I'm sure. I can get my hands on a droid easily enough - you have the hard part. Just don't get caught stealing the fuel and we should be fine." I said, not looking at her as I stared at a fork in the road.

"We'll meet here when it's done. And if we can't, do you remember the way back to my base?" I questioned, getting a nod from her. We reached the crossroads a moment later. With nothing else to say, she went right while I went left.

Pulling my skiff through the busy streets, I looked ahead determinedly, ignoring the occasional look I got from less than savory individuals. My skiff attracted no small amount of attention, the tarp covering it might as well be Christmas wrapping with how some people were looking at it. Even still, I kept walking towards my destination.

Right up until I was stopped by an imperial patrol less than a hundred feet of where I split ways with Padawan.

"Halt right there," a modulated voice caught my attention. I came to a stop at the authoritative tone, looking to the side to see a tall man dressed in black armor with a helmet that border lined goofy looking. It was more intimidating when there were another five of them behind the first, all of them carrying blasters in their hands that packed a much bigger punch than mine. "Remove the tarp!"

Wasting no time, I grabbed the edge of the tarp and slowly pulled it back to reveal a pile of junk. It came only as a minimal surprise when the soldier grabbed the edge of my skiff and flipped it over, sending all of my most valuable scrap into the dusty roads. He kicked some of it, not to be cruel but to look for something.

The other five kept their blasters trained on me during a few long seconds, all the while I kept my hands in the air. I swallowed my indignation, ignored my fantasies of ripping their blasters out of their hands with the Force and ragdoll them like Padawan could. For starters, it wouldn't work and it would defeat the purpose of trying to get off this planet before anyone was the wiser.

"He's clean," the soldier said, dropping a vacuum tube to resume his patrol. They nodded, marching on, but I felt a pair of eyes on me. Looking up as I began to pile my stuff back onto my skiff, I saw one of the troopers staring back at me. When our eyes met, my dull gray against his black lense, it was he that looked away first before catching up with his squad.

In a hurry, I started tossing things on to my skiff, wishing that I could just use my ability to do it. If only drawing attention to myself wasn't the very last thing that I wanted. As I refilled my skiff, a blur rushed towards me. Or, rather, the scrap littered onto the road.

"Hey-" I started to shout, only to pause when I saw the thief was someone my size. A kid with a white scar running down the center of his neck. A superconductor bulged out of his skinny arms, jostling with every step. It would have been so easy to reach out and trip him up, buying me time to catch up and take the conductor back. I didn't. Instead, I simply filled my skiff back up and continued on my way.

Thankfully, it didn't take long to reach my destination. An unassuming scrap shop that was successful enough to rent out the bottom floor of a skyscraper. Through the foggy windows, I saw a familiar neon light that said Scrap, only the S was gone dark since I've been going here. With little hesitation, I walked in to see a familiar face behind the counter, reading a datapad that most likely didn't display things that could be described as safe for work.

"Eh, you're alive! Was wondering if something had finally gobbled you up," a large, deep green pig-like alien snorted from behind the counter, looking up as I entered. A [URL= wiki/Gamorrean]Gamorrean[/URL]called Thurgulk. Calling him a decent person was a stretch, but he didn't rip kids off as badly as he did his regular customers, so there was that. "And you come with a nice pile of scrap! Find something good out there?"

I approached the counter, using the step stool that he put there so shorter species could see over the counter. "It's all the good stuff that I've been saving up," I answered, unveiling the tarp. If there was a gleam of greed in his beady black eyes then there were credit signs in them now. Superconductors, refurbished parts, and other odds and ends - practically a fortune on this planet.

"I can give you-" Thurgulk started but I cut him off with a hand.

"What I want," I began slowly, making sure that I had his full attention, "a ticket upstairs."

Thurgulk went still, tearing his gaze away from the scrap to slowly turning it to me. I could practically see the cogs turning in his mind, coming to a conclusion. On this planet, scarp was common, refurbished parts were rare, new parts were practically impossible to get your hands on. Getting an astrodroid? I might as well be asking to meet the emperor himself.

I wasn't going to get an astrodroid down here. The only place where I could get one was upstairs, and only I could get it. Upstairs, on the upper floors of the space elevator, there were functioning cameras, safety checks and so on. Padawan would have been caught before she stepped foot on the elevator.

"Kid...ah...well, I guess living as a slave upstairs is better than living free down here?" Thurgulk said, a note of defeat in his tone. I didn't correct him on why I wanted to go upstairs since it would just raise more questions. "That should be more than enough to get you a ticket upstairs. Here, take this pass," he said, handing me a black keycard, "and these credits."

I frowned at it, "you're not going to check it?" I asked, looking at my hard-earned scrap. Years of work hoarding the best of it for this rainy day. Years of learning from trial and error to fix every piece of tech, of learning what went where and what they did with no one to teach me other than the Force nudging me in the right direction.

"Do I need to?" Thurgulk asked, leaning back into his chair as he turned his attention back to his datapad.

Well, "no," I responded simply, stepping down from the step ladder. That was...a lot easier than I expected. I was approaching this the same way I approached my parents for getting cringy cosplaying materials - by lying about what the money was for and giving them a plethora of valid reasons why they would want to give me money. Usually, after they got off work, so they were too tired to deal with their children and gave money instead of affection.

"Good luck upstairs, kid. Hope you find a good master up there," Thurgulk said as I made to leave the store, tucking the key card into my waistband to make sure no one stole it. "And if you ever get sick of the slave life and decide to escape again, Thurgulk's scrap and wares will happily welcome you back."

Of course, he would say that. I was one of his best earners, meaning he ripped me off the most out of everyone on this planet because, to this day, I still didn't know exactly how much a single credit was worth.

That didn't mean I didn't appreciate the thought. "Thank you for all you've done for me," I said, pausing as I left to give a small, polite bow. It wasn't the norm in this world, but I was Japanese far longer than I was...Candithian?

"Eh, you did more for me kid. Good luck," Thurgulk said as I stepped out of the building. As if my gaze was drawn to it, I looked up at the space elevator. It was broken up into the lower floors, the middle floors, and the upper floors - there were hundreds, if not thousands, of floors that made up the space elevator, and each one was marked with an increase in the quality of life.

In my few years there, I only ever saw the middle floors. Even as a slave, comparing it to the quality of life, the middle floors might as well be a palace. Still, I wasn't looking forward to stepping foot there again. But, even still, I approached the elevator all the same, knowing that it was the only option.

The elevator was a large door, meant for large cargo hauls and the interior reflected that. Sliding in the keycard, the large doors slid open, revealing a large platform. Fifty of me could have stood on the giant platform that served as an elevator. Pressing my destination, I took a step back and let out a long breath as the door slid shut and I began to rise.

My heart was pounding in my chest, my palms damp with cold sweat. It felt like only yesterday that I was in this same elevator, panicking as I went down instead of up. Maybe I should have let Padawan do this instead of me - who knows what else the Force could do, or what tricks she had up her sleeves. Maybe it would have been completely fine.

I felt the elevator slow far too quickly for my liking, telling me I had arrived at my destination. Taking a deep breath, I waited for the doors to slid open. As soon as they did, I was hit with the sight of what I could only compare to a shopping mall. The floors were white, though the walls were a dull, metallic gray. Signs of neon advertised all kinds of business that all kinds of people went about their day. All of them better dressed than me.

It was a familiar sight, despite it having been years since I've been here on the five thousandth floor of the space elevator. As was the face standing directly in front of me. A woman's face was humanoid, but her skin was a dusty gray and she had another pair of arms just underneath her upper arms.

Her dully gray eyes looked into my black ones, and, to my horror, she recognized me as well.

"Ah, Hikigaya. I wondered if I would ever see you again," she said with a smile that could be mistaken for kind.

Jeen-Lie. My former master.

I hope Padawan was having better luck than me.

* * *

The next chapter is currently available on my Pat re on, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!


	4. Stage 4

Trauma is something that is purely subjective. What could traumatize person A could leave person B completely unaffected - there was no person in this galaxy that had the same exact values, fears, expectations, and desires. Despite the population, no matter their species, they tend to follow the flow like sheep, everyone was unique in their own way. The reaction to trauma, and what caused trauma, was one of those things that made each person distinct.

Self-awareness is one of my very few redeeming features, so I knew I was a perfect example of this. The rejection of Kaori Orimoto affected me more than it should have because of my social expectations. Or, perhaps it would be truer to say that her rejection was traumatizing because I read into social interactions, and hoped that despite a lifetime of being a social outcast, I could have a youthful normy highschool life.

Had anyone else been rejected by her, it would forever be a moment that would make you cringe and die a little inside, but it wouldn't leave a permanent mark on someone's personality.

In that same vein, not everyone was traumatized by slavery in the same way. There were some that found pride in the fact that they were now a possession. There were some that treated it as a job that you couldn't quit. Others couldn't bear the thought of a leash on their neck, no matter how loose, and would happily tear their own throat out if it meant freedom. Then, there were those that weren't traumatized at all. I was apart of the latter group.

"Good morning, Mrs. Jeen-Lie," I greeted with a small bow, keeping myself calm. Every muscle was so taunt that they could snap from the strain, ready to flee at the drop of a hat. My face was blank, my poker face was flawless after years of living on this planet, but judging by the small smile on her face, Jeen-Lie seemed to see right through me.

"Quite the reaction to seeing your former master. Especially after you escaped from me," she noted, cocking her head as her smile grew. "But, you always were an odd one, Hikigaya. Always so smart, so gifted...I don't suppose you're here to return to me?" She asked, sounding more amused by my sudden appearance than anything.

"I have not," I answered with a sense of finality. I would be no one's slave ever again. A man could survive a month without food, three days without water, but not a single second without pride. That pride could be found in many things, but for me, it was not being an object to be owned.

Jeen-Lie nodded, apparently expecting that answer. The tension eased ever so slightly when she didn't seem displeased with my response. If anything, she seemed more amused than anything, and that was enough to start raising red flags. "I see. It seems that the Force has seen fit to bring us together again - if you aren't here to sell yourself back into slavery, then why are you here."

I suppose she was right about that. Out of anyone I could have run into, it had to be my former master who ran a shop that repaired and sold droids. More importantly, astrodroids.

"I would like an astrodroid. Please," I added, giving her a small bow, carefully watching her reaction. Again, she was more amused than anything. Something wasn't adding up. One of her escaped slaves shows up on her doorstep unannounced, and she's amused? Jeen-Lie was hardly the harshest of masters, but if there was ever a time for her to break out the whip, it would be now.

"And what would an escaped slave need with an astrodroid?" She asked, her tone was teasing. "It sounds like you've found some very interesting work on the basement," she observed, using the slang term for the actual planet of Cadinth.

Naturally, I lied when I answered. Jeen-Lie was pleasant right now, but I doubt that she was so amused by my antics that she wouldn't sell me out to the Empire when I answered her question. "I work as a mechanic, and someone has a homemade ship that needs an OS to navigate hyperspace lanes," in my considerable experience lying to get what I want, I found using a version of the truth worked best.

Jeen-Lie's plucked eyebrows rose at that, "oh?" She questioned, gesturing me to continue.

"And I was promised a trip on the ship if I could get an astrodroid that could do it," I explained, giving a plausible explanation. Jeen-Lie gave a small nod, apparently buying that.

"You won't be able to take off until they catch that Jedi," she commented. "You'll be shot down before you leave orbit." That made my eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"The Empire has blockaded the planet?" I questioned, my lips pressing into a small frown. That could prove to be a problem. If they flat out blockaded the planet with a fleet, then getting out noticed got a lot more difficult. Jeen-Lie confirmed my suspicion with a now, making my frown deepen.

"Though," she began, "I suspect that isn't likely to stop you from leaving. A bomb in your neck didn't stop you from leaving me." She commented, gesturing me to follow her. She turned her back to me, expecting me to obey and, for a moment, I considered running away. Only the knowledge that it would be pointless stopped me from breaking out into a sprint in any direction that would take me away from here.

So, I followed her like I did so many times before. I heard her chuckling, earning a dull look from me as she spoke without looking at me. "I was very shocked at your sudden departure, Hikigaya. At first, I assumed you had been stolen from me by a rival," she explained.

I decided to play the long con when it came to escaping slavery. I obeyed every order, I went above and beyond, and her trust in me grew until the point she trusted me enough to work on droids. In doing so, she gave me all the parts I needed to organize my escape.

"You built a zapper to short circuited the explosive in your neck. I never expected that from anyone, much less a small human," she said, her tone casual as we walked the still familiar path to her store. The floor was built almost identical to a shopping mall, only each store was much bigger. There were food markets, mechanic shops, weapons and anything else you could think of. And each store owner dreamed of the day they were successful enough that they could move up a floor. "I was furious for a time. You did rather good work for someone so young, and you are a quick learner…"

The force wasn't warning me of danger when she said that, even if every instinct was telling me to turn tail and run. I crushed those instincts, the blaster on my belt felt like it was made of lead. I desperately hoped that I wouldn't have to use it.

"Too quick, perhaps," she continued, approaching her shop. It looked exactly the same as the last time I saw it. Droids stood motionless behind a glass panel, and behind it revealed a store filled to the absolute brim with parts and machines. Stepping inside, I was greeted with the smell of metal and grease - looking around, I started to do the math of just how much all of this was worth down below before quickly giving up the endeavor.

I could live like a king down below with all of these parts. People would kill for what laid on a shelf, completely unprotected.

"You said you need an astrodroid, correct?" Jeen-Lie said, bring my attention back to her as she stepped behind a counter. A droid...that I built remained behind the counter. SD-V1, or Service Droid Version 1. It stood behind the counter, rattling off greetings and advertisements, its protocols weren't developed enough to do more.

I turned my gaze back to Jeen-Lie, bracing myself for what was to come. "I did," I answered as she leaned against the counter with her underarms while her upper arms were crossed over her modest chest. Her fingers tapped on the counter, her poker face every bit as good as mine.

"Well, it so happens that I have an astrodroid available. Probably the only one on this floor," she said, telling me a bald-faced lie. It was a common tactic to drive up the price. And considering that I didn't have anywhere near enough credits for a droid, I could guess what she was about to ask for in exchange.

Even still, I asked, "what do you want for it?"

Jeen-Lie smiled at me, a smile I saw more times than I cared to count back when I was enslaved by her. It was the same smile she gave me when I was a child in the slave pens on a lower floor, packed with a dozen other children with so little room I could barely stand.

"Nothing," Jeen-Lie lied, placing one of her lower arms on her hip. She let out a laugh when she saw the disbelieving look that I didn't bother to hide. "Always a suspicious one. Fine, you can have the droid if you do two things…" She amended after she was done laughing at my expense. "The droid itself needs some repairs and your replacement keeps complaining that he doesn't have the parts."

That sounded far more like the Jeen-Lie that I knew. "And the second thing?" I asked, wanting to know what I'm getting into. However, her smile just grew a fraction before it disappeared entirely.

"When you're done, I want you to answer a question for me. If I like your answer, I'll give you the droid that you fix," Jeen-Lie said, her tone carefully even. Even still, I knew she was telling the truth. There were reasons why I was one of the few that remained relatively untraumatized by my time as a slave and a big part of that was who my master was- who Jeen-Lie is.

"And you'll let me go?" I questioned, wanting to make sure.

"And I'll let you go," Jeen-Lie agreed with a nod. I searched her face for any trace of deception but found none. It seemed too good to be true, and things too good to be true rarely were. However, despite my scrutiny, she pushed herself off the counter and gestured to the workroom, a place I spent nearly a year in.

I hesitated to follow her into it when she opened the door. A hand went down to the blaster at my waist, finding only more dread when I felt its heavy weight. Swallowing thickly, I stepped behind the counter and followed her into the backroom, seeing the familiar room. A workbench covered in parts, the shell of a droid on top, with more shelves filled to the absolute brim with parts. It was like I stepped into a bank vault.

What I didn't see was a trap. It seemed if she was planning to betray me, then she wasn't going to do it before the droid was fixed. She lead me to a small droid, it's head was a wide rectangle with two eye lenses, one slightly bigger than the other. Its chassis was small, just big enough to fit in a data port, powerpack, and other odds and ends. Its legs were backward while its feet were clamps lined with tractor locks.

"This isn't an astrodroid," I pointed out, an accusation not so subtly hidden in my tone. Jeen-Lie nodded before explaining.

"You just need the OS to plot out hyperspeed courses, right? Then that little guy is all you need - his processors can handle hyperspeed corrections, so just hook it up to the ship. Real astrodroids are more for processing variables during a spacebattle."

Oh.

"Who shot it?" I asked, gesturing to the hole punched through the chassis. Already I started to poke into its insides, seeing the fried wires, what was left of the power converter and compensator. The hydraulics were shot to- as in they were worn down, not actually shot.

"Does it matter? Can you fix it?" Jeen-Lie asked, making me think about the question. I...huh...I see what this is. This is an Event where my previous experience breaking down scrap for several years comes into play. Cautiously, I looked around the room, feeling the Force nudging me in some directions, to different parts as if to answer the question for me.

I nodded, "I can. Just give me a couple of minutes," I told her, spotting a stepping stool that I used before to see over the counter. Jeen-Lie took a step back and let me work. It didn't take long to gather everything up, and even less time to take the pieces apart. I had tools now. A luxury that took me six months to earn back on the basement.

It was...I had never cared about wealth before. In my last life, I came from a decently well off family. Komichi and I received pocket money in place of affection or parental guidance, we never had to worry about groceries or anything. Now...I once spent twelve hours digging through the sane with my bare hands to get to a part that turned out to be worthless.

Seeing this now, in a way, I had taken it for granted. And that galled at me. Not that I had taken it for granted, but the fact that I could look at my time of being a slave and feel regretful that I hadn't appreciated it enough.

Minutes ticked by in a heavy silence as I broke parts down to build new ones. The hydraulics were cleaned, the power converter was replaced, as was the powerpack. The compensator was salvaged, jury-rigged with a half dozen. Then all that was left was slapping on a metal panel after making sure that nothing else had suffered any heat damage.

*Beeeeee_p_?* The droid asked, booting up. The protocols and memory storage cards were stored in its head, so it should be fine. It stood up, the lenses swirled, zooming in and refocusing on my face before looking around. It flinched back when it's gaze landed on the corpses of other droids in various states of repair, *Beep! Beep-be-be-beep?!*

"You're not being scrapped," I told it, understanding binary. It seemed like it wasn't programmed to use basic, but I guess it didn't matter. I understood binary.

The droid swiveled around to look at me, its small legs testing its new wait, going through system checks. Then it cocked its head, *boo-beep?* I simply nodded, ignoring its happy chirps as it hopped around a little to turn to Jeen-Lie. She watched me, her gaze drifting away from the droid that was doing a dance to settle heavily on me.

"What's your question?" I asked, hoping that this would be the end of it. Jeen-Lie let out a small sigh as she crossed her two sets of arms.

"Do you believe in destiny-"

"No," I interjected. "Destiny, fate...they're rationalizations of events that have happened and justifications to force those 'destined' to act a certain way. A fated meeting is just coincidence or bad timing, a destined one is given a mold to grow into and they're nudged into it, even if they have to shave off a limb to make them fit." I explained, looking away as I doubled checked the droids readings.

"Hm. When you talk like that, you really don't sound like a kid, Hikigaya. More like a bitter old man," Jeen-Lie commented, sounding like she accepted my answer.

"Age means little when it comes to experience," I retorted, satisfied with my work.

"I'm asking," Jeen-Lie continued like I hadn't said anything, which was the norm in my experience. "Because I've been thinking a lot about it lately. 'The Force works in mysterious ways' 'Trust in the Force' and so on and so on. I was thinking about you, actually." She said in a tone that could only be described as wistful.

"I wasn't looking to buy a slave when I went down to the slave pens," she informed, earning a blink of surprise from me. "I was taking a shortcut to meet up with some friends at the time...the point is, I stumbled across you in that pen. Even back then, you had that rotten look in your eyes." She teased with more than a little amusement. "I don't know why I bought you. It was...like an impulse."

Or, for those that were genre-savvy like I was, plot contrivance.

"And you turn out perfect for my shop. A quick learner, handy with tools and now you just fixed a droid that's been on that table for a week because I was waiting to get my hands on a proper part," she explained, looking at me with an expression I couldn't quite describe. Like I was a problem she didn't know the answer to. "Doesn't that seem odd to you? And now when you're trying to leave this planet, we run across each other and I have the one thing that you need to get off this dustball?"

It did sound odd to me, but, in the end, I stood by my beliefs. After all, if a few coincidences were all it took to change my mind, then they were hardly beliefs in the first place. "Coincidence. Chance. If you didn't have to meet up with your friends, then we would have never met and if you weren't heading to the upper floors when I came to this one, then we would have never come across each other again. Just because someone searches for meaning in a chance encounter doesn't mean there is any."

I had to believe that. If there was no fate if there was no higher narrative that I was plucked from my world to serve. If there was no narrative, then that meant I could find my way out of it. It meant that I could go home to my sister, and go to high school and get a mediocre job since I doubt I would ever find a woman to marry me so I could fulfill my ambition of becoming a house husband.

"You're going to be a force of nature when you're an adult, you know that?" Jeen-Lie commented, uncrossing her arms as a look of resigned acceptance appeared on her face. I scoffed at that - with any luck, I would return to my loner ways. Perhaps become a hermit now that I have experience with it. "But, I'm a woman of my word. You are free."

Free. Not until I get off this planet.

"...thank you," I responded after a moment, knowing that she meant more than being free to go. I was free. I wasn't an escaped slave anymore. I turned to the droid, offering an arm for it to perch on. It beeped at me before hopping on, climbing onto my shoulder so it was just overlooking it. It would have to be hidden before I went back down, but for now, it was fine.

With that, I started to leave the shop, only to pause when Jeen-Lie called out to me, "Hikigaya." turning around, I saw that she was looking at me with eyes filled with profound sadness. "Was I really that terrible of a master?"

I looked away, "no. I was that terrible of a slave."

* * *

It was good to be on the ground again. JR-1, or Jury Rig-1, resided underneath my cloak, hidden from any wandering greedy hands. My gaze swept over the comers and goers, nearly all of them stopping to look my way. It was rare that someone went up the elevator, but it was far rarer that someone came down.

Striding forward, I pointedly made eye contact with everyone that looked at me. Most looked away as soon as I caught them looking, but a few didn't. It seemed I had to avoid back alleys, though going down them when the Empire was on the prowl was asking for trouble. I felt them on me as I made my way to the meetup point - Padawan wasn't there, but that was hardly a surprise. Her part was a lot harder than mine so it made sense it took longer. Especially if she was taking care not to get caught.

Sitting down, I laid a hand on my new astrodroid. It was always unclear just how much droids could really 'feel' but the quiet 'boop' I got in response told me that it at least appreciated my attempt to reassure it. After that, it was a matter of waiting for Padawan to show up. In a city like Esteria, so long as you weren't bothering anyone, then no one would bother you. Especially now that the Empire was here to remind the locals that they owned this planet.

Time passed in relative peace as I waited for Padawan. Time kept passing. And kept passing. And kept passing. The longer I waited, the more nervous I became - had she been caught? Did I miss her? Was she already back at my base? I had no way of knowing without going there-

My answer came in the form of blaster fire. It seemed to echo through the busy, making everyone go quiet, which made the sound that much louder. I shot to my feet while everyone else fled indoors - everyone knew that they didn't want to get in between the Empire and whoever they were hunting down. Except for me, apparently.

Before I could think better of it, my feet carried me towards the sounds of blasters being fired off. There was more than one, closer to a dozen if I had to guess. I rounded on the corner, smelling the stench of smoke and flash heated sand before I saw I was right on the mark. Two squads of soldiers were firing at a badly damaged pillar.

Behind it, predictably, was Padawan. She was pressed against it, cornered with every passing second chipping away at her cover. No one saw me approach, hidden behind a stall. This...was bad. This was really, really, really bad. We had to get out of here before reinforcements showed up or this entire thing was a bust.

The real question was how could I possibly help her? I couldn't take on two entire squads of Imperial soldiers! The blaster felt like it was made of neuron star for how heavy it felt tucked into my waistline. But...I've seen Padawan fight - all I needed to do was give her a chance, and she would be able to take care of it.

I searched for something that could work as a distraction and found my target with a few moments. Thanks to the markets, stalls lined the street, but like everything else, they were in a state of disrepair. Closing my eyes, I reached out one of the stalls and bared down on the scrap metal stall. It took a second, I wasn't strong enough with the force to crush metal, but I found a way around that. The weak points were focused on until the stall gave way, spilling its contents onto the ground in an avalanche.

As expected, the soldiers reacted, expecting an attack. That gave Padawan all the chance she needed. In a blur that I could barely see, she left her cover and dived into the soldiers. They realized their mistake too late, by the time they turned their attention back to her, she had already beheaded one soldier, disarmed, as in she cut off his hands, another and skewered a third.

Lashing out with a hand, some unseen force knocked half of the soldiers over, letting Padawan fall upon the other half like a force of nature. She was like a whirlwind, her laser sword flashing a brilliant blue as she blocked blaster fire, sending them back into those that shot at her even as she tore into the soldier. Nothing could stand up to her laser sword - not the armor they wore, and certainly not the men inside the armor.

The stench of burnt flesh filled the air as shouts, screams of agony as soldiers writhed on the ground, clutching at stumps cauterized so intensely that the stumps still glowed in some places. Padwan was a whirlwind of death and destruction, and no sooner had she finished off one half before they could start to recover, she fell upon the remaining half.

Only when they were all down did she turn around to me, the kind, almost serene expression she wore before was gone. Replaced by a look of grim determination of the likes I had rarely ever seen before. It was the expression of someone that had committed themselves to a path and would never deviate until it ended, or they did.

She nodded in my direction before quickly turning her attention back to a skiff with a crate on it. Hypermatter. I thought it would be some kind of liquid fuel, kind of like gas, but from what I could see, it was solid. Pellets roughly the size of a baseball, completely gray, with no distinguishing features.

I ran over to her as she grabbed the hypermatter and tucked it underneath her arm. "What happened?" I asked as we took off down the road I had just come from. It was still deserted, but I could feel everyone's questioning gazes.

"A strong-willed soldier happened!" Padawan exclaimed a moment before she grabbed me by the back of my robes to practically throw me down a side street. Not a moment later, a squad of soldiers came running down the road, missing us but only barely. Padawan let out a small breath as she continued her explanation, "I got stopped and searched on my way back. The soldiers thought I was stealing the hypermatter, but when I tried to Force Persuade them, they realized I was a Jedi."

So her mind control had a weakness. That was good to know if she tried to leave me behind.

"It seems I owe you another, youngling," Padawan commented before peeking out. "Did you get the droid?"

JR-1 chose that moment to emerge from my robes to look up at Padawan. *Bo-bo-boop?* It questioned, it's lenses focusing on Padawan before it hopped onto my shoulder. Padawan smiled, obviously relieved that I managed to follow through. Now we had everything we needed to take off.

"But we have another problem," I said, making that smile fall. "the Empire has blockaded the entire planet. If we take off now, when they know where we're leaving, we won't be able to get out of orbit before we get shot down."

Padawan followed my logic easily enough, "so we must lose our pursuers before going back." With any luck, we could make them think we were still in the city by the time we left. If we used the astro-thrusters, then we could take off on the other side of the planet without them being any the wiser-

Just as I was plotting how to not get caught by a space patrol, another squad of Imperial soldiers came running down the road. They turned the corner, nearly running into us.

"Contact!" The squad leader shouted, taking aim directly at me before pulling the trigger. Time seemed to slow as the red laser erupted from the barrel, rushing at me at speeds that my body couldn't hope to match. I couldn't even blink, stuck watching the blaster ray to inch towards me. I was going to die. Again. Before I managed to get off-

My darkening thoughts were cut off when a flash of blue raced by my face, bathing it in intense heat before a harsh ping rang out as Padawan saved my life by deflecting the blaster bolt back at the squad commander. It slammed into his helmet, firing off sparks as he collapsed. It was only when Padawan threw herself at the squad did I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

I was alive. Even as Padawan made short work of the squad, moving at speeds that I could barely follow and with a grace that was borderline unnatural, I couldn't bring myself to follow the fight because of one thought that rang around in my skull like a bell. I had nearly died just now. From a stray blaster ray.

Already, I learned that life is fragile. It was something you never thought you were going to lose until the moment that you did, and just then, I nearly died. Again.

"Are you alright?" Padawan rounded on me and it was only then that I noticed that she made quick work of the squad. She was crouched down, and Jr-1 echoed the question with a series of chirps. I blinked, once, then twice, this chided myself for zoning out at the worst possible time.

"I'm fine," I said, pushing myself up and hoping that she didn't notice my wobbly knees. Padawan didn't seem to buy it, but she nodded all the same. Reaching down she took my hand before she took off running, nearly dragging me behind her. "What are we going to do? The Empire will have the city on lockdown and we won't be able to sneak out over miles of sand."

And, seriously, could you let go of my hand? I was perfectly capable of running by myself. Though it was fitting the one time I would ever hold hands with a girl was when I was fleeing for my life.

"I…" Padawan faltered for a moment as we came to a stop when she sensed another group of soldiers to investigate the call of the last squad. I guess what Twi'lek said was true, to a degree - Padawan was a student. She wasn't used to making these calls. She was as lost as I was.

Okay. Taking in a deep breath as we waited for the patrol to pass us by, I calmed my pounding heart. I had nearly forgotten an important lesson that I learned in this life - true independence. I couldn't rely on Padawan to come up with the answers for me. Though, that still raised the issue of what exactly could I do to get out of here?

Then my gaze landed on a sewer cap. It was nearly hidden underneath a layer of black sand, I was only barely able to make out its outline.

"The sewers," I said after a moment of thought, going towards them when the patrol left us unmolested. "I don't think anyone's been in them for...thousands of years. If we can't find our way out of the city with these, then we can at least throw them off our trail." I explained as I reached out with the force.

The image I was going for was kind of ruined when the sewer cap refused to budge. It might as well be sealed airtight from going unopened for thousands of years. Feeling more than a little embarrassed by that, I was forced to clear the lining of sand and let Padawan lift the sewer cap up.

"Good thinking," Padawan agreed, lifting the cap up and, instantly, I was hit with the stench of stale air. Coughing, I looked down into the darkness that lay below, JR-1 beeping in my ear, making a comment I didn't care to respond to. It was pitch black, and the silence coming from the sewer was deafening.

Looking up from it, I saw my apprehension mirrored on Padawan's face. Neither of us wanted to go down first.

JR-1 did, apparently. "Bo-beep!" It announced before it hopped off my shoulder, peering its head over the edge before it turned on a flashlight function. It looked up at us for a moment, letting out a beep that sounded suspiciously like an insult, before it hopped onto the millennia-old ladder built into the wall and made its way down.

Right. Well, hopefully, this escape didn't flip genres and become a horror movie.

With that thought in mind, I followed JR-1 into the darkness below.

* * *

The next chapter is currently available on my Pat re on, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!


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